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Proposed business riles Tahiti Park residents

Published: Sunday, November 24, 2013 at 5:49 p.m.

Last Modified: Sunday, November 24, 2013 at 5:49 p.m.

SARASOTA - The vacant parcel of land at the corner of Hampton Road and Tamiami Trail is easy to pass by without noticing. It's so easy to overlook that when city planners in 2008 reclassified the property from residential to commercial, it was hardly mentioned to anyone.

The tweak in the city's land use plan went unnoticed until residents of the nearby Tahiti Park neighborhood learned of it last year. That was when a new owner sought to open a wellness spa there.

Irate at this surprise, the residents — who happen to be members of an unusually active and well-organized neighborhood association — are now protesting the situation at City Hall.

City officials say the origin of the land reclassification in question are unclear, but that it nevertheless appears to be valid.

The owners of the property, Monica and Steve Bedi, representing Rejuvenation Media, LLC, are within their rights, and there is little to stop them from applying to rezone the property for a business.

Having stirred up a hornet's nest — and caught between two groups with legitimate claims — the city may try to buy the land to defuse the situation and avoid a lawsuit.

It will be hard for the city to ignore the arguments of the neighborhood group, led by Jennifer Ahearn-Koch, a veteran of many Tahiti Park property disputes and chair of the city's planning board.

Walking along the main trail of the leafy enclave, Ahearn-Koch can point out the sites of battles won and lost in the past.

The Tahiti Park residents reject the idea that a nearby property could have been reclassified without their being told, and are afraid a business moving in will mean tearing up trees to put in a sidewalk.

“You would think that they would have reached out to us at some point in time. But nothing. Nothing,” Ahearn-Koch said. “I'm shocked that the city won't just admit it made a mistake. It was a mistake. Fix it.”

City officials admit errors were made in reclassifying the land, which would have made it harder for residents to know what was happening. But the owners appear to have the law on their side.

Weaver said there are other small businesses in the immediate area and that the owners bought the property in good faith, knowing the new classification. They are in the process of applying to rezone it for business.

Many of those present when the property at 1174 and 1186 Hampton Road was reclassified, opening the door to rezoning, say they don't remember it at all.

Somehow, during a massive, once-in-a-decade overhaul of the city's land use map in 2008, the site was one of many tiny dots changed from one color to another on a map of the city submitted to the state.

Even David Smith, the chief planner, was not aware of it until the Tahiti Park residents complained last year. Mike Taylor, a city planner at the time, said he remembers discussion of the Hampton Road site, and advised against changing it without alerting the neighbors.

But that didn't happen.

City must choose

Ahearn-Koch said she won't accept such vague explanations.

Her group maintains that the 2008 map is in error, and that the city at least owed the residents a letter of notification.

Smith, now a general manager for the city's transportation planning office, said the city now takes more care to engage with residents about these changes. Also, state law no longer requires cities to perform massive overhauls of their maps, so property changes can be taken up one at a time, making it harder for something to go by unnoticed.

But on Hampton Road, the city must choose between appearing to shortchange the Tahiti Park residents, and pulling the rug out from under a prospective business.

Last Monday, the City Commission decided to try to buy the property, if the owner will sell.

City Attorney Fournier will report back if that is possible on Dec. 2.

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